Indian Runner Rescue
Location: Mexico Date: February 9, 1992 Story In the Mexican mountains on February 9, 1992, a group of people from other parts of the world were on a mission of goodwill, to bring much needed care to the Mexican Indians. They included Maryland dentist Jim Ray, British first aid correspondent Louise Bush, and American assistant Julia Friedman, as well as Jim's wife, Karen, and their 8-year-old son, Billy. As everyone was hiking up a rocky mountain, except for Karen, who was riding a mule, the heavy vegetation made them unaware that they were on the edge of a steep cliff. Suddenly, Karen's mule lost his footing on the rocks and fell sideways, throwing her into the bushes and over the side of the cliff, where she plunged to the jungle floor below. Julia saw Karen fall and alerted the others, who rushed over to see what had happened. "I just stood there saying, 'This can't have happened,'" said Louise. When Jim saw her laying at the bottom of the cliff, he and Billy rushed down to her with the others, thinking she was dead. When Jim got down to Karen, he saw that she was moving and knew she was still alive. She was complaining that she couldn't move her legs, but he was more concerned about a bleeding head wound, which he and Louise immediately cleaned with antibiotics. No one knew how to get her out of the forest, as it would take at least a day to carry her to the nearest village. One of the Indians said he was a fast runner, could get there quickly, and send help. Jim agreed to this, as it seemed like the fastest way, and the Indian ran off into the woods. After a while, Billy, Julia, and the rest of the group started back towards the village as well, while Jim and Louise continued to nurse Karen's injuries. Billy was reluctant to go at first because he didn't want to leave his parents, but also didn't want to be there if Karen died. It was at this point that Jim realized that even if Karen managed to survive long enough to get to the village, they didn't know what they'd do with her when they got there. There were no doctors, clinics, phones, or any forms of transportation. The village did have a runway for aircraft, but no planes were flying as it was a Sunday. The Indian sent for help reached the village and raised the alarm, and over 100 villagers came back to help. They cut down trees and vines and tied them together with a tarp in the middle, creating a makeshift stretcher. It took a long time, but they finally managed to carry Karen all the way back to the village. As luck would have it, a pilot was taking advantage of the empty skies to take his plane on a test flight after doing maintenance. He landed immediately and the villagers loaded Karen. Jim climbed aboard, and as the plane took off, the village children ran after it, wishing the Rays good luck. By the time Karen arrived at the hospital, 5 hours had passed since the accident. She was treated for a fractured pelvis and hospitalized for a week. Karen is still recovering from her injuries, but the Rays' lives is back to normal. Jim plans to return to Mexico to thank the Indians for their help in saving her. Category:1992 Category:Mexico Category:Falls Category:Riding Accidents